Strategy shift at Audi - Head of research and development Wolfgang Durheimer fired less than a year into contract

Strategy shift at Audi - Head of research and development Wolfgang Durheimer fired less than a year into contract

If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Strategy shift at Audi - Head of research and development Wolfgang Durheimer fired less than a year into contract

Some internal turmoil in the VW Group as the head of Audi research and development Wolfgang Durheimer is no longer in his position. The VW Group elected to remove Durheimer due to disagreements over his strategy as well as some personal reasons involving bitterness among executive. Durheimer is gone after signing a contract in September of last year to head Audi R&D meaning he lasted just nine months in his position.

So what happened? Apparently VW CEO Martin Winterkorn did not take kindly to Durheimer. There was some animosity between them regarding strategies for the future with Durheimer trying to cut costs and playing it conservative with e-mobility platforms. The R8 E-Tron no doubt was likely a major source of this animosity as the expensive project was cut by Durheimer. Was this seen as an embarrassment to the VW Group? Durheimer also wanted more platform sharing between Audi and the other brands to cust costs. On paper that seems like a good idea.

However, in practice, with Durheimer recently coming over from heading development at Porsche they felt as if an outsider was dictating rules to Audi and punishing them for past mistakes. Durheimer is not a new face at the VW Group previously having served as head of Bentley and Bugatti.

What will happen to Durheimer now? Well, VW's R&D chief Ulrich Hackenberg will move to Audi to fill his spot. Who will fill in for Hackenberg is uncertain but what is certain is that a major internal shakeup is occuring at the VW Group.